Elphaba made her way down to the hallway, hands dangerously shaking, she made a sharp turn to the left and walked a little more until she found the spot she was looking for.
A dead end or more specifically, a corner. She then proceeded to slowly sit down, her hands hugging her knees to her chest. The view from her corner was what she needed right now: dark.
She felt a tear roll down her cheek. She bit her lip and looked up the ceiling, trying to hold back her tears. But to no avail, they kept falling, like a thousand stars gracefully descending towards the earth.
After a few moments, she leaned back and let them fall freely. A few times in the past, she had experienced a having a mental breakdown a handful of times, and this was the first one she had in over two years.
Her sobs started to subside, and once they did, she stood up and followed her path back towards the room. No one, absolutely no one should see her 'this' vulnerable. No one.
Finishing her make-up, Galinda opened the door and made her way towards the room where Madame Morrible's Sorcery Seminar would take place.
Finally, she stood in front of a grand double door, with striking carvings. The doors were gigantic, made out of Mahogany and the carvings implied that it started somewhere from the lower right leading up to the upper left. And from the lower left, a big circle was there, then there was a figure(which looked a bit like a fish) next to the circle. The strange thing was there was nothing surrounding the fish.
Galinda just stood there, tracing the patterns of the doors, and once she looked up to the upper left corner of the door, what she saw confused her. A small carved triangle with smaller intricate patterns inside. Doors like these normally did not have any other colors, but this one, the one she was standing in front of, it had one odd speck of color: the triangle was green.
Stumbling back into reality, she reached for the door's handle and hit the door two times. And magically, the doors opened, revealing a large but empty room inside. Momentarily startled, Galinda takes a few steps backward. 'What if this is some kind of sick rape center?' For a moment, she thought of running back to their dorm, until a voice called out: "Dearie, please do come in."
Looking around, she sees no one. "Who's there?"
A laugh came from inside the room, "Who else? Dearie, you came to me, did you not?"
"Madame Morrible."
"The one and only, wickedly talented." As she said those words, Morrible appeared. With her usual fancy garments and laces, or should Galinda say: usual unusual clothing.
'Self-praise. If this hag wasn't the headmistress I would...' Galinda thought.
"What was that, dearie?" Morrible stepped closer to Galinda.
"Nothing madame." Had she said that out loud?
"Good, now I trust that you had an electrifyingly wonderful morning?" Morrible said, with a glint in her eye.
Galinda's eyes bulged. What was this woman saying? Quickly gathering her words, Galinda replied.
"Y-Yes madame. Wonderful indeed."
Madame Morrible laughed before she noticed that Elphaba was nowhere to be found. "Miss…?"
"Upland." Galinda huffed.
"Yes, Miss Upland. Where is Miss Elphaba?"
A blush crept its way to the blonde's cheek, "I-I uhm.. I do not know, Madame."
"Pity she's late for her first lesson. Alright, let's start." Morrible said as she put a hand on the blonde's back, ushering her inside the room.
Galinda noticed the number of Sorcery students- or lack thereof. "Madame?"
"Yes, dearie?
"Where are the other students?"
Morrible laughed again before answering: "Well, you see, I only pick those students who have a strong family background in Sorcery and somehow, your family does. The only students I picked for this class are Miss Elphaba and yourself."
"M-Me?"
"Yes of course, seeing as your mother was once my student, she did very well and I assumed her daughter would too. As for Miss Elphaba, that is self explanatory, if anyone deserved a chance to hone his or her abilities, it would be the Wizard's daughter as she is the upcoming Heir Apparent to the throne, unless of course something bad would happen to her; which would be an absurd notion."
Galinda nodded, though she did not understand what the headmistress meant.
"Now, I expect no more questions unless they are related to Sorcery, but of course I would appreciate it if you did not ask." The headmistress said as she made her way to the middle of the room.
"First things first-"
Elphaba came storming inside the room, in a navy blue jacket and slacks. "I apologize for being late, Madame." She said with a slight bow of her head.
"Nonsense, dearie. We were just waiting for you, weren't we, Miss Upland?" Morrible looked at the blonde and smiled.
"Y-Yes, of course." The blonde said, glancing at the green woman who seemed to not be able to meet her gaze.
The headmistress noticed this and spoke up: "Did the spark of friendship blossom already?"
At this, both girls turned to look at the headmistress.
Madame Morrible looked at them and laughed. "Okay dearies, now that we all here, I think it's time we start learning Sorcery, hmm?"
Elphaba moved to close the door, but Madame Morrible beat her to it using her elemental magic.
"Now now Miss Elphaba, I shall have none of that. Let me. Both of you, did you feel the magic buzzing before I cast the spell?"
They nodded at the question.
The way the Madame said those words, she emphasized one but both girls did not notice which word.
"Come towards the middle and be exactly five meters away from each other. Try and focus your energy and see if the other can sense the buzz of your prowess. See it as an admission or initiation of sorts."
Of course without focusing their energies or centering their magic, both of them felt the buzz, not because of the power, but because it was just there.
Their spark.
Focusing, Elphaba closed her eyes and took a deep breath before letting her magic flow through her. The tips of her fingers produced a white glow with jade flecks.
On the other side, Galinda felt Elphaba's energy. It was like feeling electricity surge within her, it was strong. But nothing, absolutely nothing, could compare to their sparks.
The headmistress watched in awe as she too felt the intensity of Elphaba's powers. Yes, she knew how strong and magically gifted the child was, but it seemed that even her highest expectations were surpassed by the Wizard's daughter.
Madame Morrible turned towards Galinda who had her fists clenched and her eyes were squeezed shut; the headmistress looked back at Elphaba and started clapping. "Very good, Miss Elphaba. You can stop now."
Elphaba was too immersed in focusing that she did not hear the headmistress. Instead, she kept focusing her magic, and the white glow seemed to glow even brighter and the jade flecks began glowing and beating.
Worriedly, the headmistress went towards her, "Miss Elphaba?"
Elphaba showed no signs of hearing the headmistress' words.
"Miss Elphaba?" The headmistress tried again, this time holding the girl by her shoulders and shaking her gently.
No response.
Galinda, on the other hand, felt like her whole body was aflame. The buzzing filled her ears and every part of her body was screaming for release of this bondage she had. This bondage, the sparks, that seemed to get stronger by the minute.
She whimpers from the pain, and then she produces an ear-piercing scream as her legs buckle and cede.
Startled, Elphaba opens her eyes and looks at the blonde cowering on the floor. "I-I..did I do that?"
Not waiting for a response, Morrible released her grip just before Elphaba ran towards the blonde.
"Galinda, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Elphaba says as she knelt before the blonde and held Galinda's hand. There it was again, the sparks; Somehow they seemed faint, but they were still there.
Awe-struck, Morrible watched the interaction unfolding before her.
"Galinda? Sweetheart? Open your eyes please." Elphaba said as she used the pad of her thumb to massage the back of Galinda's hand.
Slowly, Galinda complied. "E-Elphie?"
"I'm here. I'm sorry. I-I didn't kn-"
Galinda put a finger on Elphaba's lips and smiled "Shhh. It was no one's fault."
Finding her voice, the headmistress decided to make her presence known. "Oh dear. It seemed I underestimated your talent Miss Elphaba. I should have stopped you earlier, as to prevent this from happening. I am terribly sorry Miss Upland." She said as she walked towards the blonde.
Galinda slowly sat up and flashed the headmistress a smile. "Oh no, Madame. Please don't"
"It's not your fault."
"It's no one's fault."
Both Galinda and Elphaba say at the same time.
Standing up and offering her hands to the blonde, she helps the blonde get on her feet.
"I'm sorry dearies. I did not mean it, nor did I foresee this happening."
"No apologies, madame. I know you bear no ill will." Galinda smiles again.
Seemingly convinced, the headmistress nodded and then clapped her hands together. "I think that's enough focusing for today. Would you like to proceed with the lesson?"
Elphaba looked at Galinda, worry etched on her face. "I don't think so, Ma-"
"Yes, Madame." Galinda replied before Elphaba could finish.
A look of pure concern was on the Heir Apparent 's face. "Galinda, are you sure? We can go back to-"
"I said yes."
Morrible smiled at the scene before her. Now this, this, was friendship. She was sure.
"Now that all the sparks of magic are gone, are they not? We can continue on our lesson."
'The sparks of magic are gone, but the other spark still remains' Both girls think.
"Yes madame" they answer in unison.
Nodding, Morrible turns her back on her two protégés and gestureD with her hands. "Now," she says between gestures, "this is called Elemental magic, the only magic I am capable of."
As she says those words, the big window at the edge of the room opened and the wind entered and billowed inside the room.
She finishes chanting and the roaring wind stops. And she looks at her students and asks "Now, you try."
"Miss Upland?"
"Alright, Madame." She moves her legs farther from each other and closes her eyes, focusing her energy.
A weak whisper of wind made its way through the occupants of the room.
Galinda opened her eyes, disappointment evident in them. "I-I..That's all I can do, Madame."
The Madame's eyes narrowed "Aren't you an Upland and an Arduenna? Surely you can do more."
Gulping, Galinda met Madame Morrible's gaze. "Yes madame, I am. But that's the thing, I can't do magic like they can."
"Well, if there is anything I excel at, it's encouraging talent. After all of this is done, you will be a successful sorceress." She says with an air of confidence.
"Miss Elphaba, would you care to try?"
Of course she would care to try. Of course she could do it. But wouldn't that be shoving her roommate's lack of magical talent it in Galinda's face? Of course it would, and as heartless as she may seem at times, she would never brag about anything, unless of course it had anything to do with her academics.
Elphaba shook her head and said "Madame, I don't think I can do it today."
"Nonsense." As if reading the green girl's mind, Morrible turns to Galinda. "You wouldn't mind, would you Miss Upland?"
Galinda shook her head enthusiastically, "Not at all Madame." She faced Elphaba and flashed a her a genuine smile, as if encouraging her.
"No, I possibly couldn't."
Galinda had an inkling as to why Elphaba did not want to do it. "Please Elphie, do it for me." She pouted.
Surprisingly, Elphaba smiled back, her pearly whites showing.
Galinda could swear she heard her ovaries explode at that very moment. That smile goaded something inside of her and the fact that the green girl did not comment on the pet name she had given her, it almost made her knees buckle for the second time today. And it was only nine thirty in the morning.
Maybe, just maybe, this friendship could work after all.
Galinda was sat on her bed, intently watching Elphaba. The green girl was seated by the study desk, her back turned towards the blonde. She was scribbling down notes . "Elphie?"
"Hmmm?" Elphaba replied, too distracted to say anything else.
"You don't mind that I call you that don't you?" Galinda tilted her head to one side and arched her eyebrows.
"I used to." She chuckled.
Galinda giggled with her, "What changed that?"
Elphaba stopped writing and turned to look at Galinda. She took her glasses off and blew on it(which Galinda found herself almost dying) before replying; "I actually have no idea." She laughed again, before looking Galinda in the eye.
"Well whatever deity or Unnamed God did that, I shall praise them for as long as I shall live." She gave a light giggle.
"Why is that, Miss Upland?" Elphaba arched her eyebrows.
Galinda dramatically flipped her hair and responded: "Because"
She paused dramatically for added effect. "They made the tough daughter of the Wizard a softy."
Then she directed her gaze towards the green girl and arched her eyebrows too.
"Is that so, Miss Upland?" Elphaba put her hands on her hips.
Galinda put her finger on her temple and replied: "I am afraid that is the case, Miss…"
The mock severity of the conversation disappeared. And Galinda put on a serious face.
"Elphie?"
"Hm?" Elphaba replied, surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere.
"What's your last name? I know I said something earlier that I think offended you, and for that I apo-"
"Hush child. If we're going to be friends I do not want you to say sorry because of logic and harmless inquiry. Do we have ourselves a deal?"
Galinda abruptly stood up, tall and stout. "Yes ma'am" She replied as she saluted with a serious face.
"Good, soldier. Now about my last name, I'd prefer it if you'd just call me Miss 'Elphaba' when we have those sorts of conversations."
The blonde looked a little disappointed as to not being able to call Elphaba by her last name, but she shook it off.
Elphaba saw the look on Galinda's face and chuckled. "It's Thropp, you were right yesterday."
"Not to pry or anything, but is that the Wizard's last name too?" Curiosity was evident in Galinda's question.
Elphaba giggled (yes giggled) and replied: "No. His last name is Diggs."
Of course Galinda wanted to ask why Elphaba did not want to use her father's last name but felt that it wasn't the time to ask it, nor was it the phase in their relationship to ask, besides, she might have passed the inquiry limit for today. But she did want to ask another question. "Ohh, uhmm… Elphie?"
The green girl smiled at her. "What is it now?" She said with mock irritation.
"So I guess this means we're friends?"
Elphaba gasped and touched her chest, "What made you think so, Miss Upland?" she said with a high pitched voice.
The blonde narrowed her eyes and huffed. "Mean green thing."
And all the while as they were talking, the sparks strengthened.
There was a lull in the conversation. Elphaba was the first to speak up. "Yes Miss Upland, friends."
Maybe, just maybe, despite all the sparks , this friendship could work.
A soul relied on this budding relationship to work and blossom.
A solitary figure in the darkness whispered, "As you become closer, I get better."